Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Kerry vs. Edwards: Fight to Finish?
Aired February 19, 2004 - 11:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF: It's now a one-on-one fight to the finish. We're talking about the Democratic presidential race, and front-runner John Kerry is getting some high-powered help today to ward off John Edwards' jabs.
Bob Franken is with us in Washington with a campaign update.
Jabs. That's a political term, right, Bob?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I suppose so. I'm scratching my head here.
The powerful help is from the extremely powerful mega-labor group, the AFL-CIO, which seems to be proving today just how badly it wants to defeat President Bush in the fall. The group is formally endorsing John Kerry here in Washington, even though many union leaders disagree with Kerry's position on trade.
The nod could take some of the steam out of John Edwards' strongest criticism of Kerry on his vote for the North American Free Trade Agreement, and we will have live coverage of the AFL-CIO endorsement in the next hour.
AIDS activists interrupted a speech by Senator Edwards in New York this morning, and Edwards' reaction to their chanting campaign on AIDS was a bit surprising. Edwards told the crowd that the same moral responsibility that Americans have for ending poverty should carry over to fighting the global AIDS crisis.
Meanwhile, a new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup Poll shows both Edwards and Kerry ahead of President Bush. In a direct match-up, Kerry leads the president by 12 points among likely voters, and the poll shows that Edwards has made the biggest jump in the last couple of weeks. He now leads the president by 10 points.
Some lively political theater on the streets of New York may be a preview of what we'll see during this summer's Republican convention. About 100 protesters dressed in top hats and tuxedoes, calling themselves "billionaires for Bush," and they were greeted yesterday by an actor imitating Bush political adviser Carl Rove. The real Carl Rove was speaking nearby at a fund-raiser that netted, by the way, about $400,000.
And in the wake of John Edwards' stronger-than-expected showing in Wisconsin, John Kerry's campaign is preparing to go all out in the Super Tuesday states. Just how concerned is the Massachusetts senator about the closer-than-expected finish in Wisconsin? Well, let's find out when he sits down with Judy Woodruff at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on "INSIDE POLITICS."
But for now, let's go back inside the building in Atlanta to Carol Lin.
LIN: Hey, the CNN world headquarters.
FRANKEN: That building, yes.
LIN: That building. Hey, thanks so much, Bob.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired February 19, 2004 - 11:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF: It's now a one-on-one fight to the finish. We're talking about the Democratic presidential race, and front-runner John Kerry is getting some high-powered help today to ward off John Edwards' jabs.
Bob Franken is with us in Washington with a campaign update.
Jabs. That's a political term, right, Bob?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I suppose so. I'm scratching my head here.
The powerful help is from the extremely powerful mega-labor group, the AFL-CIO, which seems to be proving today just how badly it wants to defeat President Bush in the fall. The group is formally endorsing John Kerry here in Washington, even though many union leaders disagree with Kerry's position on trade.
The nod could take some of the steam out of John Edwards' strongest criticism of Kerry on his vote for the North American Free Trade Agreement, and we will have live coverage of the AFL-CIO endorsement in the next hour.
AIDS activists interrupted a speech by Senator Edwards in New York this morning, and Edwards' reaction to their chanting campaign on AIDS was a bit surprising. Edwards told the crowd that the same moral responsibility that Americans have for ending poverty should carry over to fighting the global AIDS crisis.
Meanwhile, a new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup Poll shows both Edwards and Kerry ahead of President Bush. In a direct match-up, Kerry leads the president by 12 points among likely voters, and the poll shows that Edwards has made the biggest jump in the last couple of weeks. He now leads the president by 10 points.
Some lively political theater on the streets of New York may be a preview of what we'll see during this summer's Republican convention. About 100 protesters dressed in top hats and tuxedoes, calling themselves "billionaires for Bush," and they were greeted yesterday by an actor imitating Bush political adviser Carl Rove. The real Carl Rove was speaking nearby at a fund-raiser that netted, by the way, about $400,000.
And in the wake of John Edwards' stronger-than-expected showing in Wisconsin, John Kerry's campaign is preparing to go all out in the Super Tuesday states. Just how concerned is the Massachusetts senator about the closer-than-expected finish in Wisconsin? Well, let's find out when he sits down with Judy Woodruff at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on "INSIDE POLITICS."
But for now, let's go back inside the building in Atlanta to Carol Lin.
LIN: Hey, the CNN world headquarters.
FRANKEN: That building, yes.
LIN: That building. Hey, thanks so much, Bob.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
